Final answer:
It is false that Margaret Mead was not a public intellectual; she was a significant anthropologist and public figure whose work influenced contemporary understandings of gender roles.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement 'Margaret Mead was not a public intellectual' is false. Margaret Mead was indeed a renowned public intellectual and a significant figure in the fields of anthropology and gender studies. Her groundbreaking work, particularly in her 1935 book Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies, demonstrated the variability of gender roles across different cultures, which had a profound impact on the perception of gender in Western society. Her research in New Guinea showed that gendered behaviors were not entirely grounded in biological differences as was commonly assumed at the time. Mead's work has influenced countless scholars, including Esther Newton, who specifically mentioned Mead's influence in her book Margaret Mead Made Me Gay: Personal Essays, Public Ideas. Mead's contributions to anthropology and public discourse on gender and culture solidify her stature as a public intellectual.